March 31, 2013

How to recognize miracles

molly published this at 3:00 am

I blame Charlton Heston.

When I was a little kid, the yearly Easter screening of The Ten Commandments was anticipated in our household for a couple of reasons. The first of which was its role as a rite of passage to, if not adulthood, at least Big Kid Status, proved through the ability to stay awake through the entire thing. Alas, for many years, my brothers and I would consistently conk out on the living room floor somewhere around Yul Brenner’s “So let it be written; so let it be done” edict.

We yearned for the year when we could finally last until the major reason: the special effects, chief among them the parting of the Red Sea. THIS was a miracle!! Epic. Sweeping. Monumental. Supernatural. Seeing Chas up there on the rock, serving as the conduit for what God wrought below spoiled me for quite some time where miracles were concerned.

I’m not alone in this misperception, however. Most of the time we need big and flashy, or at least it’s what we’ve come to expect from our miracles. The quiet ones like breathing, flowers blooming or a choice parking spot opening up on a rainy day? Meh.

“Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,” ~ Walt Whitman

Folks who follow my twitter stream will note that I sign off most evenings with #poetry as my #goodnight tweet. One of my favorite poets is Walt Whitman, and this poem is one of the reasons why. The poem lists a number of every day miracles: events, observances and experiences, all of which exist within a confluence of everything: “The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.”

As an example, speaking to the women with children reading this, when you were pregnant, did it seem to you as though every other woman on the planet was pregnant? This perception grew from your awareness stemming from your own pregnancy. You were attuned to pregnancy and everything that involves bearing a child; hence, you recognized this experience in those who surrounded you.

Same thing with the awareness of miracles. The more you see, the more there are.

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” ~Albert Einstein

I like this quote. Although it’s a reconstituted version of Whitman’s more poetic observation, Einstein put it pretty succinctly. And it’s true. Which way would you like to live? Which world would you rather inhabit?

“There is no greater miracle than our conscious efforts to become good human beings.” ~ Sri Chinmoy

As I understand Chinmoy’s quote, this is where we internalize and externalize our worlds; we sync the inner and outer environments. Through the symbiotic action of improving ourselves, we improve our environs by default. In so doing, we effect change and provide the catalyst for miracles.

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that miracles are evidence of the Divine. When we take active steps to nurture and develop our higher selves, are we not engaging the divine within? Taken a step farther, by engaging the divine, are we not giving it the opportunity to flex itself and to manifest itself in our lives?

“I am the miracle.” ~ Budda

You are the miracle. DNA, tRNA and other helix models aside, the fact that you DO exist is, in and of itself, a miracle. Your thoughts, desires, mechanical dexterity and talents are all finely orchestrated cellular wonders. You are a carbon-based life form with sentience, a conscience and an ability to decide what your life is going to be. Every morning you have another 24 hours to make something happen.

“So let it be written…” ah…. you know the rest. What miracles would you like to create in your life?

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Molly Cantrell-Kraig is a woman with drive. Possessing an innate sense of purpose and a pragmatic, solution-based approach to empowering people, she fused these two traits in order to establish Women With Drive Foundation. Based upon its founder’s personal history, Women With Drive Foundation is a means through which Cantrell-Kraig may effect change on both a micro and macro level. By providing women with something as essential as personal transportation in order to transition them from poverty to prosperity, she, through Women With Drive Foundation, seeks to empower women to help them help themselves. Through this action, the individual applicant benefits, as does society as a whole. Follow Molly on twitter as @mckra1g or @WWDr1ve (Women With Drive Foundation).

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Filed under Motivation-Inspiration, Successful Blog | 4 Comments »


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4 Comments to “How to recognize miracles”

  1. April 8th, 2012 at 5:00 am
    Lezley Davidson said

    The videos are fascinating! It’s a miracle that life happened at all.

  2. April 8th, 2012 at 6:00 am
    mckra1g said

    Thanks, Lezley! I was watching a television show about the origins of the universe and was encouraged by the fact that the reason we exist at all? “Flaws” in the structure of the dispersion of the gravitational forces exerted by the various different sizes of matter that are flung hither and thither by who knows what….

    It helps me to internalize that nothing is perfect; nothing is meant to be perfect and that our imbalances are what keeps us in sync with each other.

    So glad that you commented today! My best, M. :)

  3. April 9th, 2012 at 4:12 am
    MaxKovat said

    Well, my miracle would be all my friends staying “Kids” and stop acting like cool guys.

    Seriously, there’s no sense in their conflicts on “Grown-up” themes. Once it was simple, now everyone is feeling like a “Hero”.

    Stupid world, I’d say :D

    About quotes; they are great source for the motivation to reach your goal, especially Buddha’s. :)

  4. July 10th, 2012 at 7:25 am
    mckra1g said

    Thanks Max! I can’t speak to the dynamic of your friendships, but agree that things get more complicated as we get older!

    :)

    I love reading and applying quotes ~ being able to reflect on the insights I gain there helps me to understand concepts from a different perspective.

    Best, M.

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